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TSA will no longer require all passengers to take shoes off at airport security checkpoints

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Washington
CNN
 — 

After nearly two decades, passengers going through airport security in the United States will no longer have to take their shoes off.

The Transportation Security Administration will be eliminating the security requirement “effective immediately,” Kristi Noem, the Secretary of Homeland Security, announced Tuesday.

”TSA will no longer require travelers to remove their shoes when they go through our security checkpoints,” she said. “We want to improve this travel experience, but while maintaining safety standards and making sure that we are keeping people safe.”

The news was first reported by the blog Gate Access.

“The key to our approach is layered security,” Noem said. “Passengers will still pass through multiple layers of screening. They’ll also go through identity verification.”

The rule was being evaluated under the Biden administration, however she credited President Trump with taking the initiative to eliminate it.

Changes to other TSA rules are also being considered, if they can be implemented safely, Noem said.

In December 2001, Richard Reid, who became known as the “shoe bomber,” tried to use matches to ignite explosives hidden in his shoes on a flight from Paris to Miami.

The requirement for passengers to take their shoes off at TSA security checkpoints came nearly five years later due to “intelligence pointing to a continuing threat,” an official TSA history notes, following a foiled August 2006 terrorist plot to detonate liquid explosives onboard transatlantic flights. The TSA introduced its 3-1-1 liquids rule for carry-on luggage in response.

“In those 20 years since that policy was put in place, our security technology has changed dramatically. It’s evolved. TSA has changed,” Noem said, noting the addition of new scanners and more officers in some areas.

“The REAL ID compliance allows us another layer of security knowing who’s going through our checkpoints and who isn’t,” Noem said.

Participants in the Trusted Traveler Program TSA PreCheck have long been able to avoid removing shoes. However, they must submit to a background check and pay an application fee. Noem said she still expects travelers will see value in this program, even if it is not the only way to avoid taking shoes off.

CNN’s Kara Devlin contributed to this report.



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Apple’s AirPods Pro 2 are cheaper than ever thanks to this Prime Day deal

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It’s Amazon Prime Day again, except this time it’s a four-day affair, the longest Prime Day ever. There are an overwhelming number of deals and discounts to sift through, but this steep sale on Apple AirPods Pro 2 is one of the best out there. For Prime Day, these wireless, noise-canceling headphones are selling for $149. That’s a new record-low price, and at a regular price of $249, you’re looking at 40 percent off.

The Apple AirPods Pro 2 were our overall pick for best wireless earbuds for iPhone, as well as our pick for best overall AirPods. In our hands-on review, we were impressed with the Active Noise Cancelling, as well as the transparency mode for when you’re trying to hear the outside world. We found that the audio quality on the 2nd generation of AirPods Pro was an improvement over the first, thanks to a new amplifier, driver and transducer. We also liked that you could seamlessly switch between Apple devices while using them.

Apple

We do wish the battery life was a bit better, as they offer just six hours of listening per charge with an additional 30 hours provided by the case. In looking at the design of these AirPods, we wouldn’t be mad at a bit of an update. I guess if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it? After all, the design of an AirPod is almost instantly recognizable, so perhaps Apple wants to keep it that way.

Far and away our biggest gripe is the price of the Apple AirPods Pro. $249 is a hefty price to pay for a set of earbuds, so we’re grateful that sales like Amazon Prime Day provide a great opportunity to snag a pair for far less. If you’re looking to spend even less, both models of the AirPods 4 are also on sale for Prime Day. You can get the standard version for $89 or the model with active noise cancellation for $119.

Image for the mini product module
Image for the mini product module



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Giants catcher Patrick Bailey makes history with game-ending, inside-the-park home run

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SAN FRANCISCO — Patrick Bailey’s entrance into the Major League Baseball record books on Tuesday night began with a tight swing that sent a fastball from Phillies reliever Jordan Romano into Triples Alley.

It ended with Bailey chugging his way around third base then getting mobbed at home plate by his teammates after becoming the third catcher in major league history to hit a game-ending, inside-the-park home run.

The three-run shot had an exit velocity of 103.4 mph and bounced off the brick wall at the Giants’ waterfront ballpark. It ricocheted back toward center field as Nick Castellanos and Brandon Marsh gave chase.

Bailey said his initial thought was to get a triple before he saw third base coach Matt Williams waving him in.

“Off the ball I just knew I got it well,” Bailey said. “I saw it was towards Triples Alley and I was like, ‘Oh I gotta go. I at least gotta get to third.’ Once I saw the bounce, I was like ‘All right, just don’t fall over.’ ”

It’s the ninth time this season that the Giants have won in their final at-bat, tops in the majors.

It was also the first time in nearly nine years that a player has hit a walk-off, inside-the-park home run in the majors. Cleveland’s Tyler Naquin was the last to do so on Aug. 19, 2016.

The three-run home run lifted the Giants to a 4-3 victory that had the Oracle Park crowd roaring as Bailey crossed the plate.

“He has gotten some big hits this year,” Giants manager Bob Melvin said. “In big situations he’s come through. Not as much as he would like. Hopefully that’s something that catapults him. Haven’t seen him drive a ball like that in a while.”

Bailey couldn’t recall if he had previously hit an inside-the-park home run at any level. And as nice as this one was, Bailey said that he would have preferred to hit a regular home run.

“Tired,” Bailey said when asked how he felt. “I wished it would have gone over the fence.”



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Ukraine suffers heaviest attack as Trump criticises Putin

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President Volodymyr Zelensky says Ukraine has been hit by the biggest ever aerial attack from Russia – 728 drones and 13 cruise or ballistic missiles hit cities around the country in multiple waves.

Zelensky condemned the “telling attack”, adding: “It comes precisely at a time when so many efforts have been made to achieve peace, to establish a ceasefire, and yet only Russia continues to rebuff them all.”

The overnight strike came after President Donald Trump said the US would send more weapons to Kyiv – a reversal of last week’s suspension which US media said Trump had not known about.

On Tuesday, the US leader expressed growing frustration at Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“We get a lot of bullshit thrown at us by Putin, if you want to know the truth,” Trump told reporters. “He’s very nice to us all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow was “pretty calm about this. Trump’s way of talking is generally quite harsh, the phrases he uses.”

The two leaders have been in regular contact but this has so far failed to translate into tangible steps towards a ceasefire in Ukraine – something Trump once said he would be able to achieve in a day.

Last week, following a phone call with the Russian president, Trump said he was “very unhappy”.

“He wants to go all the way, just keep killing people, it’s no good,” Trump said of Putin.

The criticism came even as the Trump administration announced a suspension of military aid to Ukraine, reportedly authorised by US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Elbridge Colby, the under-secretary of defence for policy.

Asked by reporters on Tuesday who had taken the decision, Trump – sitting right next to Hegseth – replied: “I don’t know. Why don’t you tell me?”

The reversal of the decision may now mean that 10 Patriot missiles may be sent to Ukraine, according to US outlet Axios.

Kyiv relies on the interceptors to try to counter Russia’s missile and drone attacks, which continue to grow in intensity and frequency.

On Tuesday Trump also said he was “looking at” a sanctions bill by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham that would see 500% tariffs imposed on countries that trade with Russia.

Trump has been threatening sanctions on Russia since taking office in January but has so far failed to impose any. In June, he stated that he pointed out sanctions “cost a lot of money” and signalled he was waiting to see whether a deal between Russia and Ukraine would be signed instead.

However, last week the US president said he and Putin had discussed sanctions “a lot” and added: “He understands it may be coming.”

Although the east of the country and Kyiv come under fire on a regular basis, no corner of Ukraine has been spared by Russian strikes.

The city of Lutsk – which lies 90km (56 miles) from the Polish border and is a transit hub for military and humanitarian aid – suffered the brunt of Tuesday’s overnight attack.

Explosions were also reported in the western cities of Lviv and Rivne.

For their part, Russian authorities have said that a Ukrainian drone attack on the border region of Kursk killed three people and injured seven others on Tuesday.

Two rounds of ceasefire talks between Russia and Ukraine took place earlier this year but no other meetings have so far been scheduled – and neither Moscow nor Kyiv appear optimistic that diplomacy will solve the conflict, which was sparked by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Meanwhile, Russia’s summer offensive in eastern Ukraine grinds on.

“We are moving forward,” said Peskov on Wednesday. “Each new day the Ukrainians have to accept the new realities.”



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